Having exited our gorgeous forest track, a lovely quiet car-free road led us the last 500m into Varaire. As we dawdled by its cute little houses and their wonderful gardens of fig trees and flowers, we were ready for a café and Perrier.

We had walked 7 km on this lovely lazy day and would have another easy-going 6 to do later. An afternoon walking in the south of France is a beautiful thing.

Jean-Claude, in his 70s, was pottering about outside his house, when he saw this gaggle of women approach (I was somewhat behind, taking pictures of doorways). They were chatting away as I arrived on the scene, the ladies full of praise for his beautiful garden, pretty old house and the trees offering shade from the midday sun. I joined in, helping with the translation, and enjoyed the friendliness of this lovely man. This is what the south of France is all about, I reminded us all.

Suddenly, this smiling lady appeared from nowhere, joking that she had seen all these women hovering around her Jean-Claude. “Il fallait bien que je vienne, au cas où vous me le piqueriez” … “I had to come, in case you were stealing him from me”…

We moved on to the village square for refreshments and joined a big group of cyclists at the one and only bar. Looking out to the impressive medieval square tower and the old public washing pool, the setting was ideal for our break. The cyclists were one of many groups of friends out on the vélo that day, clad in bright yellow, blue, white and orange tops, so typical of that sport.

Around the Monument aux Morts, we nibbled half our packed lunches before moving on, back into the fabulous oak-dominated forests. A few km further along, we stopped for the remainder of our lunches on a fallen tree trunk by a little crossroads of forest tracks, truly in the middle of nowhere. The silence and calm here is beautiful.

This gentle day of walking brought us 13 km along mostly forest tracks and took us 6 hours, including various stops.

If you would like to enquire about joining our small group from September 8 to 15, 2019, please drop me a line to info [at] tourismpurewalking.com.

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